Impax Asset Management has sold 206MW of French and German onshore wind to ERG Renew, renewable energy subsidiary of the Italian multi-energy company ERG Group. However, the terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

The London-based investor announced on Wednesday that the move is part of its plans to sell off assets acquired between 2010 and 2014. The majority of the wind farms sold were constructed under the ownership of the fund.

ERG Renew has acquired 11 wind farms in France with an installed capacity of 124MW and six in Germany totalling 82MW as part of the deal.

The sale also includes two companies that give operational and commercial technical assistance to “captive” and third-party wind power operators in France, Germany and Poland.

Impax managing director Daniel von Preyss said on the deal:

“We are pleased to complete this sale which is a significant part of our current disposal programme of the fund. The sale of this portfolio is the result of our three year roll-up and construction process.”

The fund still owns a French wind project development business which it aims to grow in size through construction and acquisitions in the coming years.

German tech giant Siemens has won an order from a consortium between Duro Felguera, Elecnor and Elecnor Mexico to deliver turbines for 791MW Empalme II combined-cycle power plant in Sonora, Mexico.

The firm will also be offering technical assistance during construction and commissioning of the facility, for which the consortium is the engineering, procurement and construction contractor.

The project has an estimated worth of $397m (€363m) and will be equipped with two gas turbo-generator units, two heat recovery boilers with three pressure levels and a steam turbine.

Commissioning of the power plant is expected to be completed in April 2018, following which the state-owned energy giant Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) will be in charge of its operations.

Besides 791MW Empalme II, the German conglomerate has won orders for six H-class gas turbines for the 770MW Empalme I and 615MW Valle de México II combined cycle power plants in Mexico, since early 2015, as well as a contract to deliver two SGT6-5000F gas turbines for the Tula plant in Hidalgo, Mexico.

Nordex has won a contract from John Laing Investments to supply and install 35MW at the Glencarbry wind farm in Ireland.

The Germancompany will install 12 turbines (seven N100/3300s and five N90/2500s units) at the site close to the village of Hollyford in County Tipperary. Delivery is scheduled to start in October.

Nordex will also service the turbines for a period of 15 years having signed a Premium Service Contract with John Laing.

John Laing managing director of renewable energy Ross McArthur said:

“Glencarby is an important investment for John Laing Group and we’re pleased that for the first time the turbines for one of our projects are being supplied and maintained by Nordex. We’re looking forward to seeing the project fully operational in early 2017 and to the prospect of working together and delivering further projects with Nordex in the future.”

Renewables investor Impax Asset Management has sold its 51% stake in the 24.2MW Ballycadden wind farm in Wexford to the Toronto-based Greystone Infrastructure Fund.

In a deal announced this morning, Greystone, one of Canada’s largest institutional money managers, will join a group of minority shareholders on the project. However, the terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Commissioned in 2013, a mix of 2.3MW and 3MW Enercon E-82 machines are spinning on the 9-turbine Wexford site.
The acquisition by Greystone is its first renewables investment in Europe with the company aiming to expand its interest across the continent.

Jeff Mouland, Head of the Greystone Infrastructure Fund commented this decision :

“We are very pleased to be adding this investment to our infrastructure portfolio and are actively pursuing other high quality assets in Ireland and across Europe on behalf of our investors.”

“Impax is currently constructing a number of projects in Ireland and remains committed to developing and building out its project pipeline throughout the period to 2020 and beyond”, said director of Impax Ryan Cameron.

German group BayWa AG said yesterday (Tuesday) it had acquired 375 MW of wind energy projects in Germany from Juwi AG, for an undisclosed amount.

The deal involves 31 projects, the majority of which are located in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate. Subsidiary BayWa re renewable energy GmbH will take on their implementation.

The projects are at different stages of development, with almost one-third of expected to be approved in 2016. Construction is planned to start following approval and the first projects to be commissioned next year.

BayWa chief executive officer Klaus Josef Lutz commented the news :

“With this portfolio, we are creating the right conditions for the continued and sustained growth of our renewable energy activities. This enables us to safeguard a significant part of BayWa’s consolidated results over the coming years.”

The two companies said they will cooperate further throughout the implementation of the wind projects.

RWE Supply & Trading is to sell the 420MW Lynemouth power station to EP UK Investments, which is a subsidiary of Energetický a prumyslový holding, a Czech energy group.

Lynemouth, a 420MW coal plant in Northumberland, stopped generating in December under environmental rules but is due to be converted to burn wood pellets and reopen within about 18 months.

Neil O’Hara, of EPH’s UK subsidiary, said it would work with the team at Lynemouth to try to reach a final investment decision on the project within the next month or two and believed it would “achieve its ambitions”.

French energy giant Schneider Electric has cancelled the complex £1.3bn intended deal (€1.8bn), which involved the acquisition of UK-based engineering software provider Aveva Group.

The French firm had announced about the possible takeover in July, which would have entitled it to own a controlling 53.5% stake in Aveva for an investment of £550m (€761m), but Aveva has cited unanticipated costs and risks related to the proposed merger for termination of the deal. The company explained :

“During the due diligence process significant integration challenges were identified that could not be overcome without considerable additional risk and cost. This was exacerbated by the highly complex structure of the proposed transaction.”

The complex deal would have involved Aveva acquiring Schneider’s industrial software unit — Schneider Software — but the French company would in turn have taken a majority stake in Aveva. The two companies had previously said there was a “clear and compelling industrial logic and strategic rationale” for the tie-up.

Neither company will have to pay a break fee as the terms of the transaction were non-binding.

Schneider Electric said: “The two parties have decided to stop their discussions by mutual consent as no agreement could be reached on the terms of transaction.”

The firms had previously termed the tie-up to be based on a “clear and compelling industrial logic and strategic rationale.”

Aveva chief executive Richard Longdon was quoted by the Financial Times as saying:

“The sad thing is the industrial logic was always good and still is. But they say that time kills deals. Too much time had gone on.”

Infrastructure investor Natixis and insurance outfit Swiss Life have signed an debt cooperation agreement with €300m already committed and an offshore wind project ready to roll.

The partners said the wider deal will “benefit from the expertise of Swiss Life Asset Managers and Natixis in this asset class”.

They added initial co-finance of the unnamed offshore wind project “has already been set up”, and that this partnership will “enable Natixis to further expand its infrastructure debt platform, and hence bolster its infrastructure financing capacities in Europe, serving its clients”.

Natixis is the international corporate, investment, insurance and financial services arm of Groupe BPCE, the second-largest banking group in France. Swiss Life has been involved in insurance for 150 years.

Italian company MegaGroup is to build a manufacturing plant for solar products in Bosnia. The factory will have a capacity of 120MW a year and will be built on 20,000 square metres of land in Kozarska Dubica.

The €12.5m facility will make mono and polycrystalline silicon ingots and wafers for photovoltaic cells in its first phase, with commissioning expected by the end of 2016. 90 workers will be employed after being specifically trained to work in a high technology sector.

The later phase of the project foresees a further production capacity increase and establishment of other PV Value Chain parts, with an overall investment of 35 million Euros allowing the creation of one of the largest European photovoltaic plant, carrying the Italian flag.

MegaGroup president Franco Traverso commented :

“We will aim to start production of mono and polycrystalline silicon ingots and wafers by the end of 2016 in order to provide the raw materials for cells and modules production. This is the first step towards the creation of a world photovoltaic hub.”

India has launched a global alliance with France to boost solar power generation across countries, especially in developing ones that have ample solar energy resources but insufficient capital.

The International Solar Alliance (ISA) initiative was launched by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Francois Hollande on the first day of the UN climate change summit in Paris, France.

It is expected to operate as a collaborative platform for the tropical countries, having solar potential and support solar projects and infrastructure.

The International Solar Alliance aims to have 121 signatories, including the US and China, as well as a long list of developing countries situated between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.

The members of the alliance will sign a declaration to “undertake innovative and concerted efforts” to reduce the cost of solar financing and the cost of solar technology around the world.

They will also agree to push for new solar projects around the world, with an aim to “mobilise $1.000bn” in funds (€915bn) by 2030 needed for a “massive deployment of affordable solar energy”.

Under the initiative, India expects a $100bn investment every year (€91bn), from the rich countries to the poorer ones from 2020.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi commented the announcement :

“The sun is the source of all energy. The world must turn to solar, the power of our future. We want to bring solar energy into lives and homes by making it cheaper, more reliable and easier to connect to the grid.”

ISA will be operating from the National Institute of Solar Energy in the city of Gurgaon in Haryana, India. The institute will be allocating land and $30m (€27m)to form a secretariat for the solar alliance. The initiative is expected to encourage technology exchange and innovation and create new business opportunities in India and globally.

Over the past few years Mr Modi has made solar power generation a key part of his government’s energy policy, targeting 100 gigawatts of solar power generation by 2022, up from around 4 gigawatts at the moment.